American Go E-Journal » 2013 » June

Preliminaries for the 10th Changqi Cup finished May 31 after three days of fierce matches. When the smoke cleared, Tan Xiao 7P, Liu Xing 7P, Shi Yue 9P, and Lian Xio 4P stood above the rest, including last year’s defending champions Chen Yaoye 9P and Tuo Jiaxi 3P. The finalist’s circle was especially sweet for Liu as he competed in 2007, 2008, and 2011 to no avail. However, this year he bested his two-time conqueror Gu Li 9P. No date has been set for the semifinals, although the finals have been scheduled for late October 2013.

Known as one of China’s “most generously sponsored tournaments” with a grand prize of over $73,000 USD, the Changqi Cup always draws China’s top players. Pros who made an appearance this year were Chang Hao 9P, Fan Tingyu 9P, Kong Jie 9P, and Jiang Weijie 9P, to name a few. Joint-hosts the Chinese Go Association and the Ing Foundation (Shanghai Branch) originally came together in 2004 to honor Ing Chang-ki. For more information about this year’s tournament including photos and game records, please visit Go Game Guru.- Annalia S. Linnan, based on reporting on Go Game Guru

What does $17,000 buy? If you’re The American Go Foundation, here’s the answer: 8,000 9×9 cardboard beginner boards for the Starter Set, 1,000 full size wooden boards for the Club Classic and 2,000 vinyl boards for distribution to AGF programs and AGA chapters. Thanks to generous donors, “We’ve provided hundreds of programs with materials in the last few years, and our successful outreach to schools and libraries means that demand is growing even faster,” AGF VP Paul Barchilon told the EJ. For the DIYers out there, the AGF has also made the PDF of the 9×9 board available as a download. “Why didn’t we think of this before?” muses AGF President Terry Benson. “Print boards and rules, make stones from card stock with a ¾” punch (available online or at any good craft store) and you’re ready to go.” The AGF is supported entirely by generous go players; to support their work, click here.

The popular International Children’s Go Art Contest is back for the third year in a row, and children are invited to submit their pieces. Last year’s contest drew almost 70 entries, from ten different countries, and this year organizers hope to pull in even more. The entries will be exhibited at the US Go Congress in Tacoma, in August. The categories will be for under 12 and under 16, with three winners, and 2 notable entries in each category. Magnetic go sets for the top six winners will be provided by Yellow Mountain Imports. To see some highlights of last year’s entries, visit the online gallery on the Go Symposium site. The contest also has a Facebook page here. Complete entry information is available in the pdf file attached to this link (right click to download once it takes you to the page with the file) GoArtContest2013. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor

Heading to Japan later this month, “The Surrounding Game” documentary crew is looking for help as they finish up principal photography on the film. The 3-man filming team will arrive in Tokyo on June 25 and shoot for about a week before heading to Osaka. “We are in communication with several people at the Nihon Kiin in Tokyo and the Kansai Kiin in Osaka,” reports Will Lockhart, “and we’re looking for people to stay with, interpreters, and other filming ideas that visually illustrate the rich cultural legacy of the game.” The Japan shoot “will be our last big filming operation, and I am confident it will lead to some of our very best material,” Lockhart adds. Click here for the complete update and use the comment section to post suggestions.

“Lisa and I want to thank everyone who contributed so generously to the American Go Foundation through our recent Coast to Coast walk in England,” says American Go E-Journal Managing Editor Chris Garlock. “It turns out that many ‘Coasters’ do the walk as charity fundraisers and it gave us a great opportunity to talk about the terrific and effective work the AGF does promoting go in the U.S.” The Garlocks — who were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary — have raised almost $2,000 so far to support the AGF’s outreach to thousands of American children in schools, libraries and community centers across the country. “Promoting go is a long journey, not unlike a trek across difficult terrain,” says AGF President Terry Benson. “Chris and Lisa have blazed an exciting new trail we hope others will follow.” Deadline for donations is this Sunday at midnight; click here to contribute and to see the list of contributors. “A very special thanks to Paul Barchilon — assisted by Roger Schrag and Andy Okun — for excellent work on the E-Journal while I was away,” Garlock added.

“Kudos for your ongoing, seemingly tireless work,” writes Sunnyvale Chapter founder and organizer Jean de Maiffe. “You’ve certainly learned and grown over the years.” However, de Maiffe says, “I have a small quibble for you. I think The Power Report(June 2 EJ) would have been more effective if it were in chronological order. Putting the Honinbo information first makes rather weak the statement, ‘This win may have given him [Takao] some momentum for the Honinbo title match.’ I think that statement would have been more powerful if it were foreshadowing Takao’s later success in the Honinbo.”

Longtime International Go Federation and American Go Association official Thomas Hsiang (second from right) was elected General Secretary of the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) at the 2013 SportAccord Convention held during the week of May 28 in St. Petersburg, Russia. IMSA also announced that the 2013 and 2014 SportAccord World Mind Games (SAWMG) will be held December 12-18 in Beijing for both years. For 2013, North America is invited to send a three-man team and one female player to compete for a total prize fund of $400,000 USD. “For North American players, this will be the most lucrative international tournament,” Hsiang told the E-Journal. For example, the team would get $9,000 if they defeat Europe; the female player would get $2,000 if she places 8th; and the pair would get $5,000 if they defeat Europe. “The AGA is planning a selection tournament, possibly using the NAMT event, to select our representative,” Hsiang said. Strong players, especially pros with North American citizenship, are encouraged to make inquiries with the AGA tournament coordinator, at tournaments@usgo.org. The IMSA executive committee also elected the following officials: President: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov (FIDE); Deputy President: Harry Otten (FMJD); Treasurer: Marc de Pauw (WBF). In addition, Geoffrey Borg (FIDE) was designated the Executive Director. photo: Hsiang (second from right) with IGF Secretary General Yuki Shigeno (far right); photo by Ivan Vigano

Takao Evens Score in Honinbo Title Match: Takao Shinji 9P has a notoriously bad career record against Iyama Yuta Honinbo, but he has shown that past results may be irrelevant. After losing the first game in his challenge for the 68th Honinbo title, Takao roared back with a strong win in the second, played on May 28 & 29, so the match is level. There was plenty of drama in the game, with three important ko fights. The first was worth over 50 points and led to a major trade, but neither side took the lead. Another big trade followed the second ko fight, but once again the game remained evenly poised. Shortly after this (on move 205), Iyama made a small misjudgment , letting Takao take the lead. Iyama resorted to yet another kobut was unable to make up his deficit, so he resigned after 244 moves. The third game will be played on June 5 & 6.

Kisei Leagues: Two games were played in the 38th Kisei Leagues on May 23. In the final gamein the first round of the A League, two of the big guns in the league clashed. Takao Shinji 9P, the top-ranked player in the league, beat Hane Naoki 9P, who is the second-ranked player; taking white, Takao won by half a point. This win may have given him some momentum for the Honinbo title match. The B League was one game behind the A League. The game on the 23rd was a match-up between two veteran players, Kobayashi Satoru 9P and Yamashiro Hiroshi 9P; the former is a former Kisei (beating Cho Chikun in 1995), and Yamashiro came within an ace of winning the title in 1992 (he had the lead late in the 7th game but lost it in the endgame). Taking black, Kobayashi beat Yamashiro by resignation.The first round of the B League was completed on 30 May. Taking white, 25th Honinbo Chikun (Cho Chikun) defeated Kono Rin 9P by resignation to make a goodstart to this year’s league.

Kono or Matsumoto to be Gosei Challenger: The semifinals in the 38th Gosei tournament were held on May 23. In one, Matsumoto Takehisa 7P (W) beat Akiyama Jiro 9P by 1.5 points; in the other, Kono Rin 9P (B) beat Cho Riyu 8P by half a point. Either Kono or Matsumoto will challenge Iyama Yuta for the Gosei title, but we don’t have a date for the finalyet.

Attendees at this year’s US Go Congress can start planning their daily activities now with the Congress’ handy Google Calendar. The the 29th Annual US Go Congress is set for August 3-11 at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, and the schedule includes the US Open, the largest annual go tournament in the US, professional lectures and game analysis, continuous self paired games, and all kinds of go-related activities from morning to midnight. Congress organizers credit “the talented work of Bart Jacob and Jared Beck” for the first-ever online calendar. “Remember, though, that the calendar is a dynamic production,” notes Gordon Castanza, “so come back to it now and then to see if there are any updates. We will strive to use this valuable tool during the Congress as well. So those with portable devices, laptops, tablets, etc. can see the calendar at any time.”

Mexico City, Mexico, beat Portland, Oregon 8-0 in a May 25 team match between elementary school players, taking revenge for their 8-4 loss the last time these two teams met up. Four players from Mexico City competed against eight Portland players, with each Portland player playing one game and Mexico City players playing two games in this two-round match. Playing for Mexico City were Leo, Samuel, Dante and Diego. For Portland: Hikaru, Nicholas, Wilson, Aden, Jordan, Noah, Tyler and Cameron. This was the first match for Nicholas and Cameron.- Peter Freedman; photos by Freedman (left, Portland) and Siddhartha Avila (right, Mexico City)